Spirituality

Spirituality, originally uploaded by quasi's mobile.

“The mainspring of every race lies in its spirituality, and the death of that race begins the day that spirituality wanes and materialism gains ground”

~ Swami Vivekananda.

Serious Observations of a Funny World

Earth

Earth, originally uploaded by quasi's mobile.

The original frontier.

Serious Observations of a Funny World

Lost

The perspective from 3 feet above ground is different. The ants look bigger. The dogs, fearsome creatures. Looking around he saw nothing but definition-less foliage - indistinct and ominous. There seemed a few paths leading into different directions but all he could see were distant mountains raising above the mass of green on one side and a fading blue on the other. He sat on a thoughtful rock and contemplated about contemplating. Since quite some time he had been trudging on, believing that the path would lead someplace. But as time passed the thoughts became as indistinct as the swirling green around. What had been cool earlier was now warm and what was bitter was now acceptably tasteless. How we change ourselves when we are not sure nor comfortable with who we are. He looked at a distant peak and thought that he should have aimed for it since the start. At least he might have gone in one direction than the circles he seemed to be doing now. For a aimless soul like himself it would have been a reason, a tonic.

"Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized." - Daniel Burnham

Danger

Danger, originally uploaded by _quasi.

440 VOLTS.

These boxes are everywhere, control valves for the electronic blood of the new life form which are our cities.

Serious Observations of a Funny World

Daily Elixer

Daily Elixer, originally uploaded by quasi's mobile.

A proverbial glass half full of sweetness. Of optimism.

Serious Observations of a Funny World

why ...

On the road

Back to the blog. After a long while. Talking to myself. For the benefit of my reading in the future. What's the point of a diary which is public ?? Trying to reduce my insignificance in this world ? To go unheard and unseen would be so much less than to have the a hope of a chance of some random travelers seeing this. Or an even remoter hope of them understanding. But I digress ...

Does one really fall in love just like that ? Why do we do it ? Does it just happen ? I dont know, really... I think maybe one meets someone and there is some 'connection' ... some reason to warm to the person. That is just the ingredients there. You need a vessel too. The frame of mind to want to let the other person under your skin (like Jude was advised)... And then there needs to be the fire. The process of actually cooking. I think love only happens if you are willing to cook. It takes time to know someone. To trust someone. To let someone in your life. ....

Maybe. Maybe not.


Duh. 'nuff of this now.

The fast bus.

The fast bus., originally uploaded by quasi's mobile.

In the brittle april afternoon heat she flew down the long highway. Guided by the resolute hands and white hair of the mahoot. Deftly weaving around slow moving vile trucks. Charging down on the tum-tums. Hopping out of the way of the nimble dancers.

Serious Observations of a Funny World

The invitation

Wildflowers, by quasi


The Invitation:

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes."

It doesn't interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

by
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
http://www.oriahmountaindreamer.com/
(via Madhu Reddy)

Good Bye Mumbai

Time has come to go. Feels sad. This has been my home all my life. Kalina, Campus, The Naka, Cleartrip, Triveni, Palinaka and Carvalo's, Matunga Mughal Road ...

Dukkar, Chati, Coconut, Ajju, Peeyush, Sheerish, VP, Medha, Preeti, Amod, Sharvari, Nabs, Sarang, Pradnesh, Pappu, Shekar, Pakya, Zondya, Sugreev, Soham, Shadab, Shabbir, Shiva, Sandeep, Vinay, Vinu, Vasu, Mihir, Gore, Tyo, Trupti, Bakchod, Dojo, Hrush, Elvis, Happy, Sup, Vishu, Khobra, Dinya, Busty, Shot, Taklya, Mhatre, Percy, Milu, Chota, Chavri, B and G, and-anyone-I-missed -- salutes.

In search of the high grasslands ...

flowers and cactus

Sometimes one sees more of oneself, suddenly and without a mirror. Suddenly, because largely one is blissfully unaware and unconcerned of most of what or who he is. The realisation stikes like a lightening bolt, gifting you a moment of bright visibility.

Riding through the hills, looking for that faint memory of a vision of beautiful country which I had seen several years ago, I was a happy guy. Then in the biting cold of the late evening, what that bolt did was to light up the world and show me the many corners I have. I manage to bring out such extreme and sometime, uncharacteristically irrational, reactions out of people. Bringing out the worst in people is a thing I wish I was not able to do.

We rode out 175km to a small beautiful village called Brahmanwada in the hills. Ate a banana and headed back. The high pastures were there, spread thin over the bald hills. I had been here in October when the grass had been lush with the occasional late monsoon shower. We bid adieu to the Sun in the small ghat. A little before Malshej, in a village dhaba we had hot missal pav and tea. It got very cold. We had, predictably, like fools, had only one light jacket and one helmet between the two of us. All the way back up to Kalyan it was bone numbing cold. The windchill made the jaw muscles to stiffen and get a cramp, the head to go so cold that it started aching, the ears to feel numb with the cold going deep inside. I was wearing open sandals which added to the discomfort.

But such are the ways of the fool ...


white


thorn tree and a bed of flowers


tree


the hills and the grass


a beautiful small ghat


sunset amongst the hills


Malshej Ghat


Bhairavgad, Malshej

on Post Processing

This one is the original as it came out of my Olympus SW850.

For all the heads who believe that doing PP is bad. "this is as-is from the camera" they claim, with pride. There is nothing wrong with only in-camera as equally as there is nothing wrong with photographic PP.

Getting the composition and exposure right as much as possible in the camera is a good ploy. But the camera sensors (and films emulsions) have severe limitations in the way they capture light. They rarely, if ever capture the scene as the eye sees and the heart feels ... the post processing gives the image the feel .. the thing you felt when you clicked it. Post processing is the next 50% of image making - after the capture. You can do better PP in the digital darkroom then what PP the camera can do in-camera.



This was more like the mood that day. The dramatic clouds were overpowering, dominating the scene. The sun-burned grass and landscape was drab and desolate.

of Deepawali Lights and Fireworks

Yesterday night (17th) the city of Mumbai was bursting all over with the sound of a thousand crackers and the sparkle of a million lamps. More and more people have been asking for a less polluted and noisy festival with emphasis on lights not crackers. And slowly but surely it seems to be working.

I have been cooped up for a week trying to solve some problems. Suddenly I took the camera, tripod and rushed out to the terrace to click a few. I have always wanted to do so. I got a couple of burning embers on me too.

The pollution and smoke is visible. So are the lights and lanterns and firework displays. All in all it is a happy time. The beauty of the lit city shadowed the negatives. It was asking to be positive.



View Large On Black








View On Black

At Jotiba

At Jotiba, originally uploaded by quasi's mobile.

They use a different shade of red for the gulal here .. more like pink-red with a slight blue tinge. Surprisingly photography was not looked down here, even inside the sanctum. Most large Temples I have visited are run by a the priests. I think that is the single most negative to them. We have to please the priests, who are far from 'pure', to be able to get to the Gods.

I think the most peaceful temple is where you are the priest.

Serious Observations of a Funny World.

Sunday Flower

Bouganvillea, Maharashtra Nature Park, Mahim


“Philosophy is a study that lets us be unhappy more intelligently”
~ Anonymous

Sunday Flower

from the Maharashtra Nature Park, Mahim


“The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.”
~ Epictetus

Sunday Flower

Chafa, Maharashtra Nature Park, Mahim


“The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”
~ John Muir

Sunday Flower

Gulmohar, Maharashtra Nature Park, Mahim


“Wonder is the foundation of all philosophy, inquiry the progress, ignorance the end”
~ Michel de Montaigne

Sunday Flower

Cactus flowers, Maharashtra Nature Park, Mahim


“Experience has shown, and a true philosophy will always show, that a vast, perhaps the larger portion of the truth arises from the seemingly irrelevant”

~ Edgar Alan Poe

Sunday Flower

Skyflower, from the Maharashtra Nature Park, Mahim


"If you think you're free, there's no escape possible."

~Ram Dass

Sunday Flower

Devaar island, Goa

"Yesterday is but today's memory, tomorrow is today's dream."

~Kahlil Gibran